Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus and a data processing method for processing data in a memory.
Description of the Related Art
There is known a technique with regard to memory control, which prevents destruction of data stored in a non-volatile memory by controlling so as to inhibit write operation to the non-volatile memory, in a case where the life time of the non-volatile memory is about to expire (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-167809).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2014-167809 discloses a technique which focuses on protecting data stored in a non-volatile memory from destruction. However, in a case where highly confidential data is stored in the non-volatile memory, there may be a situation in which it is desirable to erase, rather than protect, the data in terms of security assurance. With the life time of the non-volatile memory being about to expire, there may be a case where writing of data is impossible and only reading of data is possible. In a case where only reading of data is possible, erasing the data stored in the non-volatile memory becomes impossible.